This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2000-315970, and the disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference to the extent permitted by law.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holographic stereogram print order receiving system and a method thereof capable of performing services to receive an order for a holographic stereogram and to provide the holographic stereogram as a printed matter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an image printing system capable of providing services including from imaging of an object to printing of the result of the imaging at the same site becomes widely popular as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Patent No. 3014733.
Further, such a system that can image and print not only a still picture image but also a motion picture image or a parallax picture image has been developed, therefore, it has become possible to obtain a printed matter, wherein the picture image changes when observed while varying its viewing directions.
As examples of new business operations according to the above, there have been proposed several operations that produce a parallax picture image as a printed matter utilizing the lenticular technology such as follows, for example.
The triple-eyes-lens equipped film camera called xe2x80x9cTorikkiri Konica 3-D (Trade Name)xe2x80x9d and its print service provided by Konica Corp.
The triple-eyes-lens equipped film camera called xe2x80x9cKodak Snap Kids 3-D (Trade Name)xe2x80x9d and its print service provided by Kodak Corp.
The xe2x80x9cMIP (Motion Image Print) card (Trade Name)xe2x80x9d obtained by synthesizing 6 picture images and the MIP card producing device called xe2x80x9cUgoiTaro (Trade Name)xe2x80x9d developed by Matsushita Denki Sangyo Ltd.
The Internet Service provided by Chikyuya K. K. for receiving orders for the cards of the above-mentioned xe2x80x9cUgoiTaro (Trade Name)xe2x80x9d through the Internet.
An automatic vending machine for providing motion picture image cards capable of viewing like moving picture image when viewed from different directions by creating from consecutive picture images of an object, and such machine is supplied as a non-consumer amusement equipment on the basis of a customer order sale provided by Matsushita Denki Sangyo Ltd.
As similar systems that employ the holographic technology for producing a printed matter, there have been also proposed printing systems for providing services from imaging pictures of an object to printing of the result of its imaging at the same site, as follows.
xe2x80x9cInstant holographic portrait printing systemxe2x80x9d by Akira Shirakura, Nobuhiro Kihara and Shigeyuki Baba, Proceeding of SPIE, Vol. 3293, from page 246 to page 253, January 1998.
xe2x80x9cHigh-speed hologram portrait print systemxe2x80x9d by Kihara, Shirakura, Baba, at 3-D Image Conference 1998, July 1998.
For a user who desires to use some of the above-mentioned systems that provide the services from imaging pictures of an object to printing of the result of its imaging on the same site, it has been necessary for the user to visit a place where its system is installed in order to have its pictures taken and obtain a printed matter thereof. Further, it has been difficult with these systems to obtain the same printed matter afterward as the ones obtained previously.
Because of such reasons described above, the user who uses these systems often feels inconvenience, impairing the usefulness and advantages of these systems.
On the other hand, as a business operator who operates any one of such systems, in order to increase an amount of sales, it has been necessary for the business operator to increase the number of equipment to install for this system. Further, if the number of equipment installed increases, there has been such a problem that unless a great number of users are obtained for a unit period of time and a favorable condition of high rate of operation or availability factor of the system is maintained, and accordingly it takes a long time for the business operator to recover a large amount of the investment of the equipment. In particular, because the systems for printing motion picture images or parallax picture images are still in their development stages to practical levels, and because of a very high cost of investment of its equipment, it is very important to eliminate the above-mentioned problem associated with these systems.
For the user, it has been desired to be able to place an order for a holographic stereogram that allows to observe an image in which a designated zone is zoomed by changing its viewpoints, only by simply sending a 2-D (2-Dimensional) picture that the user already has and an instruction designating a zooming zone to a shop operator via a network.
On the other hand, for the shop operator, it has been desired to have a holographic stereogram print order receiving system and a method thereof that can substantially improve the rate of operation or availability factor of the system, and to provide an excellent benefit and conveniences to both the user and the shop operator.
A hologram print order receiving system of the present invention comprises: a user terminal means; a first network means to which the user terminal means is connected; an order receiving means for receiving a connection request and an order from the user terminal means via the first network means; an image processing means for executing an image processing relative to an image transmitted from the user terminal means via the first network means when the order is authenticated and accepted in the order receiving means; a second network means to be connected to the first network means via the order receiving means and the image processing means; an image storage means for storing processed image data obtained by executing the image processing relative to the image transmitted via the second network means; a charging and settlement transaction means for performing a charging and settlement transaction in accordance with the order from the user terminal means; a printout order receiving means for receiving a printout order according to the order received by the order receiving means via the second network means after completion of the charging and the settlement transaction by the charging and settlement transaction means by the order receiving means via the first network means; a printing means for printing a holographic stereogram based on the processed image data stored in the image storage device and transmitted via the second network means in accordance with the printout order; and a shipping terminal means for executing a shipping processing of the hologram printed in the printing means.
Further a holographic stereogram print order receiving method of the present invention comprises the steps of: receiving a connection request and an order from a user via a first network means; generating a string of images by executing an image processing relative to a 2-D image which is authenticated and accepted of its order in the order receiving step and transmitted from the user terminal via the first network means by using a parameter information transmitted from the user terminal via the first network, then executes a viewpoint conversion processing relative to the string of the images; storing a processed image data sent via a second network means in an image storage device, the processed image data being obtained by executing the image processing relative to the 2-D image using the parameter information in the image processing step; executing a charging and settlement transaction in response to an order from the user terminal via the first network means; receiving a printout order in accordance with the order received in the order receiving step via the second network means upon completion of the charging and settlement transaction in the charging and settlement step and after recognition thereof by the order receiving step via the first network means; printing a holographic stereogram upon reception of the processed image data stored in the storage device in the image storage processing via the second network means, and read out in accordance with the reception of the printout order in the printout order receiving step; and executing a shipping processing for shipping the holographic stereogram printed out in the printing step.